Aliens Area

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Aliens Area falls into 'that' category of Shonen series... Where initial idea shows potential, but it falls apart when developed.
Which kind of reflects with the fact it got axed. Even the whole setup showed influence of other series, so despite having fresh spark on the paper, in reality it seemed like we haven't seen anything new. It's a mixture of good elements from other mangas, but with a slight lack of enthusiasm behind it. Or rather, it was difficult to get attached to characters, plot or "world building" (power system, mechanics, etc.) from a get-go.

Plot on its own is dabbling on borderline of ... those detective noir novels (of course, painted by Shonen tropes) and sadly it never kicked off in that direction. For this kind of themes, story is heavily driven by characters, who came out slightly flat and emotionless (aside our mc, who had initially had it plenty of, but it got lost along the way). Heck, most important factor for enjoyment of such stories is villain... but at the end,one can only feel disappointment over who villain is or represents. To be fair, author hadn't had much space to develop more than this, given that this manga is only 20 chapters long.

On the other hand, art elevated the quality of this manga and, with some editorial aid in terms of writing, author could make something more impactful in future.

It's short manga. It's ok for an rainy afternoon read, to kill some time. But there are better picks for that elsewhere.

Aliens area is a brand new shonen jump manga. Its basically japanese men in black. They even have the flash which makes people forget shit.
I wish the author did something more original cause it all seems very generic till now.
The art is rough and not in a stylish jjk kind of way , it never felt that good in any pages.
The characters also felt cookie cutter versions of better ones .
Lazy concept, story and execution, this felt very forgettable.
Unless it gets better in the future but I personnaly don't have any high hopes for this one.

For example , (spoilers for the 5th and 6th chapters) ... when you introduce a character calling him one of the best assassins in the galaxy, you better introduce really hyped up guy and not someonee who would(probably) die in the first few chapters itself.He did not look threatening and someone who also felt forgettable

Aliens Area comes across as a rehash of the popular battle shounen trend: teenage boy goes through a traumatic event and ends up joing the special organization dedicated to fighting [insert supernatural entity]. The special flavor of this manga is the use of the buddy-cop genre and dealing with aliens. For the first six or so chapters, the story basically moves along as one would expect... cool gadget abilities, new teammates, first mission, mentor flexes their high level power, etc.

And then the plot changes for the better! We enter an episodic format where we gradually learn more about the world this series takes place in. ... One day they're dealing with an alien who is a petty thief and on another day they have to confront one illegally parking a spaceship. It's not all human vs alien fighting in this manga; the daily life of alien law enforcement is on full display. The mangaka has a fun time making these encounters both goofy and endearing.

While Tatsunami has a pretty simplistic goal in protecting his siblings, we slowly uncover more of his personality through these slice of life interactions with the side cast. The mission-by-mission story brings a sense of nostalgia I feel is lacking in the current generation of battle shounen. Instead of rushing through the plot at breakneck speed, we take in this world full of extra terrestrial visitors at a gradual pace and experience it alongside Tatsunami. The casually episodic and day-to-day life aspect of Aliens Area is something I welcome with open arms. This pacing feels like a breath of fresh air in an era of shounen where plot development is demanded every chapter.

When it comes to the art, the mangaka is inconsistent. This is unfortunate, because their rough and sketchy style looks great in most chapters. Other times it just looks sloppy. The same can be said for the paneling too. Battle sequences flow really well but there are other non-action scenes where the transition from point A to point B isn't as clear as it should be. As for character designs, most of them are pretty decent, with the more generic ones having a unique flair to them thanks to the artsyle. I mostly enjoy the designs of the different aliens, but my favorite design is the one for Sharaku. His hair, his scar, his trenchcoat, his cane; the way he is drawn just requires your attention whenever he appears in a panel.

Overall I would have given this manga a 5/10, but because of the laid-back pacing I find myself enjoying the simple advancements of the story, so I'm bumping it up to a 6/10. I recommend it specifically because of how the author takes their time with allowing the series to grow naturally.

Aliens Arena had a lot of potential when it began. The main protagonist was likeable, the alien aspect was unique, and it was a fun play on a kind of Men in Black theme. Yet, as the chapters continued I found it difficult to connect to the characters and I found myself growing bored. When I reached chapter eighteen, I dropped it, but upon finding out that chapter 20 was the final chapter, I read chapters 19 and 20 because I did always plan to return for at least the final chapter when it finally ended because I did want to know how it ended. ...

I think everything started out on a decent enough foot. The hook was there, but I think part of what made it start slipping for me was the world building. Things got slower and bogged down, which made it difficult to keep reading. I think possibly with better editing choices this could have lasted longer, but a lot of Jump series right now seem to be struggling with pacing and editing in general.

If you're looking for something a bit weird then you might like this manga. Some parts of it are genuinely interesting as well. It just kind of needed a little more something for me to truly like it I think, but others might find it enjoyable.

This review is subject to change (if the potential isn't properly utilized).

I've rated this manga quite highly, especially for one with only, what, 12 chapters? I'll try to keep this short and sweet. There are a few reasons why:

- I see a significant amount of potential. Much like the better of its predecessors, Aliens Area establishes early a cool power system, which at this point seems pretty easy to comprehend, which leaves a wide array of powers for the future, wacky stuff like teleporting, and enabling zero gravity within a field
- The episodic format is a really useful tool to establish our characters, and actually ... make us care about them, as well as bulld out our world
- On that note, I enjoy when a series takes the time to flesh out the world it exists in, and I actually am enjoying the pacing
- I'm impartial to the kind of rough art style this series seems to have

So I see potential. I'd recommend a read, especially with how new/short it is. We'll see if it utilizes that potential, or squanders it.

Aliens Area likens itself to a Men in Black inspired alien detective story, with the superpowered twist of the protagonist having alien abilities. On paper this manga seemed like a wonderful addition to Weekly Shonen Jump, with its unique art style and memorable first few chapters, but in reality it squandered ample opportunity to build its world and explore its themes at a slower pace.

There isn't much to say about the manga as a whole, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. What Aliens Area does well is both fun and interesting, but it often feels inorganic and rushed. I truly think with some attention ... to detail, and more time to flesh out what it was trying to show, this would've been a pretty fun read with plenty of science fiction to make any nerd happy. It just couldn't strike a great balance between detective noir and alien fighting secret agents. The power system never feels properly explained, but seemed like an interesting take on one, albeit riddled with atypical Shonen troupes.

I would recommend this if you're a fan of sci-fi and shorter reads, as this clocks in at 21 chapters, as it was at least an interesting idea with great illustrations.